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1/2 Thaler - Matthias II Kuttenberg
| Issuer | Kingdom of Bohemia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1613-1619 |
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| Currency | Thaler (1520-1754) |
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| Obverse description | Armored and draped bust of Holy Roman Emperor Matthias II facing right, wearing a prominent ruffled lace collar and pauldrons, with a small goatee and moustache. The effigy is rendered in high relief in the late Renaissance style. A circular legend in Latin surrounds the portrait within a beaded border, reading MATTHIAS D G ROM IMPS A GH BOH REX. The field is smooth and the portrait fills the flan with commanding presence. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Crowned double-headed imperial eagle displayed, with wings spread, each head surmounted by an archducal crown and the whole ensemble beneath a large imperial crown. The eagle's breast bears an ornate shield with the Austrian and Burgundian arms quartered. The date appears in the upper field flanking the crown. A multi-part Latin legend surrounds the design within a beaded border, citing the emperor's additional titles as Archduke of Austria and Duke of Burgundy. |
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| Additional information |
Matthias II secured the Bohemian crown in 1611 only after forcing his brother Rudolf II — increasingly erratic and politically isolated — to abdicate. The Kuttenberg mint, operating in what is now Kutná Hora, had been one of Central Europe's most productive silver-striking facilities since the medieval Bohemian silver boom, and continued under Matthias with output tied directly to local Joachimsthal and regional silver supplies. His reign over Bohemia ended with his death in 1619, mere months after the Defenestration of Prague triggered the opening phase of the Thirty Years' War.